Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/83718
16 in this issue 24 ILTA White Paper: Financial Management SEPTEMBER 2012 30 6 2012 Financial Management Poll Results ILTA's Financial Management Peer Group undertook a poll earlier this year covering finance department staffing models, hiring practices, collaboration with other departments, technology adoption and overall economic outlooks. Here are the results! 16 Value-Based Legal Services (Not Just Estimating Hours at Standard Rates) by Mike Burks and David A. Rueff, Jr. of Baker Donelson Many firms are re-evaluating their focus on the billable hour to help them meet the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Value Challenge and more closely align fee structures with client and market expectations. 24 Law Firm Technology Spending: More than a Numbers Game by Steve Odum of Bricker & Eckler LLP and Jim Hammond of Aderant Understanding spending realities and budget trends associated with law firm technology can give valuable insights for determining future spending. There's more to legal technology spending metrics and key purchasing statistics than meets the eye. 40 30 Make More Money: Getting IT and Finance to Collaborate by Debbie Foster of Affinity Consulting Group The collaboration between IT and finance is incredibly influential when it comes to having a positive effect on the business side of running the law firm and, most important, the bottom line. 36 Monitor AFAs with Microsoft Reporting Services by Chris Emerson of Bryan Cave LLP A critical component to successful alternative fees is tracking and monitoring them so attorneys (and clients) know how they are doing against the fixed fee or budget. See how Microsoft's Reporting Services can help. 40 From 8-Track to MP3: Making the Cost Recovery Current by John Gilbert of nQueue Billback We haven't stopped listening to music because 8-tracks are obsolete, and cost recovery isn't dead because fewer paper copies are made. Cost recovery strategies have evolved with the market. ILTA White Paper 5